Question:
How long should it take to drink a cup of water.

Hi there , can someone tell me how much i can swallow sipps of water at a time, and how long i have to wait to drink again. Just trying to understand how the pouch works. After you eat your liquid protein can you start your water again. please explain for me on how to do this. thanks ( will be a gastric bypass patient Nov 4th)    — claire G. (posted on October 8, 2008)

October 8, 2008
My dr. told me to take a sip every 5 minutes. It took me several months to be able to drink at a more normal pace. You can drink water at a pace that is comfortable for you. As far as drinking after liquid protein. There is no reason not to. Liquids go right on through the pouch. Just drink your protein slower because if it has sugar in it, you can get dumping syndrome. Refraining from liquids is associated with food. Each doctor is different, but I am not suppose to drink 30 minutes before, during, and after my meals. Good Luck!
   — mary_rn

October 8, 2008
I drink a protein shake in the am and then follow it 30 minutes later with breakfast...but at night I drink a shake and drink about 15 minutes afterwards. I only do this so my body has the chance to absorb it...I feel that drinking too fast after would push the shake thru my intestines too quickly to be absorbed..but thats only opinion...ask your Dr or nutritionist these questions. I was worried about stretching my pouch with fluids and was told by my dr and nut that liquids will not stretch it out..they pass right thru it... Just remember after the meals you have to wait...not waiting the 45-60 minutes (according to my dr's rules) and drinking with meals are the biggest contributors to failed wls. hope this helps...hugs, Kim
   — gpcmist

October 8, 2008
If I remember correctly it works out to be about 8 ounces an hour, but newly post-op, I think it was 1 ounce every 15 minutes. The hospital should give you instructions. The further out you get from surgery, the more your insides will heal and the inflammation will subside... allowing you to eat and drink more (and more easily). The first couple of weeks are definitely a learning experience!
   — gonnadoit

October 9, 2008
According to my surgeon and nut and lit, they say no liquids 1/2 hour before eating and no liquids 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour after. I find that really hard to do (the 1/2 hour before, bacuse I'm never sure when I'm going to eat). If you have a set schedule, then it would be easier to do. I can not drink water without it hurting when I swallow. But, I can drink Crystal Light and K2O protein water. I love both and with the protein water, I'm knocking out 2 requirements at one time. Right after surgery, your body will tell you what you can and can not do... just listen. You won't want to take a large gulp... not going to happen. But after a few weeks (when your pouch naturally stretches) you'll be able to. I can take a large swallow with no problems now. I actually missed drinking fluids more than the food... until I found the protein water. Good luck... you'll do fine... LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!
   — pattschiele

October 9, 2008
You really have to do what works for you...We all function somewhat differently after RNY. For the same surgery, we sure do have such a wide variety of different "events" for lack of a better word....Imagine this...Before surgery your stomach is the size of a football, roughly...with an opening the size of a quarter...All your food dumps into acid and is broken down and most of your nutrients are then ready to be absorbed in the small intestines...You have plenty of room for water and food and over filling! After surgery...your stomach has very little acid...is the size of your thumb down to the palm of your hand and your stomach opening is only the size of a pencil width...AND there is no stretch or give...Totally restricted! So when you eat...you must chew so food does not become lodged in the pencil sized opening (stoma)...Food needs to slowly "drip" thru the stoma. This takes 30-45 minutes...and that's about how long you should wait to drink water...Remember, in the normal belly...there is acid that helps break down food and digest it...No such thing now...NOW your food NEEDS to pass slowly and not be rushed so that this undigested food can bypass the small intestines where most of your nutrients were absorbed...and dump into the large intestines where it finally meets some acid and at the "Y" section and HOPEFULLY some nutrients are absorbed. (Reason for all the vits and dry forms of oil vits that are absorbed only in the small intestines) So when you drink too soon...your pouch is this slow dripping funnel or clogged sink...and water on top will sit there causing so much pain from the weight of it on top of the food and can put stress and stretch or irritate or tear your stoma after long time abuse of eating this way. PLUS you wash your food out far too fast to absorb any nutrition...BUT you never malabsorb calories! So... you can starve your body while gaining weight! Oh yeah, you can! Wait to drink at the very least 30 minutes. Dumping is similar to washing your food out of your pouch too soon...You lose much nutrition when you dump or wash it out too soon. After some time your pouch can hold a good cup of food and the stoma opening is the size of a nickle...This is why we can eventually take pills and capsules...This is why chewables and liquids are far better absorbed! Pills pass thru too fast, undigested and you don't get the vitamins in a pill...No acid...no small intestines...No nutrition. At leqast your mouth has saliva enzymes that are similar to stomach acid and is a "predigestion"...The better you chew, the more your saliva has time to help digest your food for you and the better your chances of absorbing nutrients in your mouth! Drink as much as you can inbetween meals, but not with meals...(before or after) Hope you is easier for you to "see" now...I have to visualize stuff or I just don't get it! LOL So for my fellow visual peeps ....hope this helps!
   — .Anita R.